Post #407616 by Paipo on Fri, Sep 12, 2008 9:31 PM

Thanks again all!
Babs, I love the random yet obviously well thought out nature of that necklace. The biconical (hourglass) holes are a good indicator of genuine neolithic workmanship and were usually made by one of these (posted by Toataiaha in the stone thread):

Artists' exhibition Te Kaha-nui-a-tiki District High School, Te Kaha. Dr Doug Sinclair demonstrates traditional drilling techniques. June 1973
Our first day at "Rock School" involved going to the beach and bush, finding the materials to construct one of these, and then using it to drill through a jade slab (which nearly all of us succeeded in doing).

Which brings me to the latest:

Before....

After!

This one is based on several old half-done pieces I saw in the museum up North, which were just a series of holes and grooves with no real details. This pebble has been earmarked for a pekapeka for over a year now - like the Lono, and the piece I am working on now (another jade), part of a backlog of stalled projects that I have found a new energy for.

Also, after months of bad luck, poor timing and illness I finally got some water time in this week (2 mornings running). I had literally been out maybe twice since April, but I doubled that this week! Only had time for a quick shot out the car window yesterday, but I know you fellow waveriders like to see a glimpse of the sea:

The guy in the shot is a friend of mine who also happens to be a jade and stone carver (and a bloody good one at that). Just the two of us out both mornings!